Week #10: July 13-20, 2026

The halfway point of the 2026 Open water season! Crazy to think we are in the second half the season already and fall is just around the corner.

Week #10 7/13-7/20

Water temps: 76-78

Arguably some of the best mid July fishing I’ve seen in the last few years! It’s consistent, it’s not fast and furious but we are putting fish in the boat and they are schooled up big time! A lot of new clients right now and a lot of first timers to Vermilion! This year is probably the most fun I’ve had guiding yet!

Pretty much anyway you want to catch walleyes, you can. Jig and crawler, jig and leech, jig and some plastics, jigging raps, and bobbers all caught fish. Believe it or not, I never took my lindy rig rods out of the storage this week! Probably should’ve some days for some better action but we still caught them.

Main lake humps and rock structure from 15-24’ have produced all of our fish this week. Some have muskies, some have walleyes, and a lot of them have both! Pick your battles, if I see a muskie actively chasing the walleyes around on livescope I immediately leave.

Casting a bobber with a leech or crawler and letting them float over the top of them over and over again caught the most fish this week. In a close second was a jig and crawler. An 1/8 ounce jig with half a crawler worked best! We did start to get some fish on jigging raps as well. Nothing crazy, but never a bad option to have on standby!!

A lot of smallmouth hit the deck this week as 1/2 of my trips were for bass! Ned rigs and top water were again the go to techniques. Slowly dragging Ned rig next to structure produced a ton of fish. Big top water worked fast also produced a lot of really fun strikes!All of the fish we caught were on structure. Whether that be a dock or large boulders, not much for shoreline action. I’ve really enjoyed mixing in a bunch of bass trips this summer. It seems like smallies don’t get the attention they deserve as walleyes and muskies are the dominant species.

The second half of the season has started strong and it’s only going to get better as we go! July is full, and August is over 1/2 full now. I am now booking the second half of August (random openings left the first 2 weeks) and into September! October has very limited availability left as MEA weekend is already booked up.

If you want to get out yet this summer don’t hesitate to call! Plenty of space open in August for the late summer bite as well as lead core! This is the best time to bring the whole family up! I’ll be running groups of 5 during lead core so we can get the whole family on the boat! The best way to contact me is to text (218) 404-9200 and set up a call, or book directly online at fishingwithz.com! Booking directly online is the quickest and easiest way to lock in your dates.

As always, tight lines!
Captain Z